Creston has created very believable characters in this book. It is very easy to relate to the emotions that both Jack and his wife, Pam, are dealing with as they go through this very scary time in their lives. They are struggling to hold on to their belief in God which is true to human nature when problems that are beyond our control come our way.

In the midst of the problems the Crittenden family is facing Jack is also trying to keep on track with doing his job and working with another family in the midst of a crisis situation. The two stories are wonderfully interwoven. This book kept my interest as I was following along and trying to figure out if and how the two stories may connect.

I received a free copy of this book through a giveaway on The Suspense Sisters Blog.

This is a well written Christian suspense novel. You don't see that very often do you! It really was a good book that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. I gave this book 5/5 stars. I would recommend the book to any Christian who likes suspense and still has the Christian message prominent in the story line. The characters were enjoyable, which came as a surprise to me. A lot of Christian suspense novels have one character that is just so annoying because they act with no common sense. I did not find that in this story at all. This is a book I would recommend and would gladly read again!

I would like to thank the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

It was more than a break-in. More than a stalking. It was personal. When a stalker targets his family, journalist Jack Crittendon must uncover who the person is and what his motives are--if he is to protect the ones he loves. It will lead Crittendon into a world of behind-closed-door secrets and faith gone awry, as does his investigation of a missing pastor, whose apparent suicide is more than it appears.

Each move Crittendon makes weaves him tighter and tighter into a web of lies, greed, hypocrisy, sin, and danger. He believed he'd never give in to fear. But that was before. And holding on to his faith won't be easy. Nor will keeping his family safe, and ending the terror. Because that might require him to step over lines he never dared to cross.

My Review:

This is the kind of novel that keeps you up until the wee hours of the night frantically turning pages. I will begin by stating that the Christians in this novel were not portrayed in the best of light. And of course, this is fine with me, because if we started with perfect Christians, what kind of story would we have? Jake was a very multifaceted character. I liked the investigative reporter side of him, as he was capable, resourceful, and creative to solve his cases. But as a Christian and husband, he sucked. He was two different people, and his dark side came out with the ones he loved instead of on the job.

And saints preserve us, Pam was the dumbest woman I have ever met in literature. Mapes did a good job of making sure we saw her for all her faults and shortcomings, and I couldn't help but wish I could sit her down and have a talk. She confused me a little with the way she's smart and dumb at the same time, but I enjoyed that she wasn't written in as a perfect compliment to Jake's unsteady character.

I found it very interesting that Mapes actually has me sympathizing with the criminal. I feel that his terrible parents contributed to his unstable frame of mind, yet is a victim of his own making. No matter our past, we make our own choices, and the "bad guy" in this story was no different. A wonderful, suspenseful first novel to The Crittendon Files.

This book was provided by the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.

It was more than a break-in. More than a stalking. It was personal. When a stalker targets his family, journalist Jack Crittendon must uncover who the person is and what his motives are--if he is to protect the ones he loves. It will lead Crittendon into a world of behind-closed-door secrets and faith gone awry, as does his investigation of a missing pastor, whose apparent suicide is more than it appears.

Each move Crittendon makes weaves him tighter and tighter into a web of lies, greed, hypocrisy, sin, and danger. He believed he'd never give in to fear. But that was before. And holding on to his faith won't be easy. Nor will keeping his family safe, and ending the terror. Because that might require him to step over lines he never dared to cross.

My Review:

This is the kind of novel that keeps you up until the wee hours of the night frantically turning pages. I will begin by stating that the Christians in this novel were not portrayed in the best of light. And of course, this is fine with me, because if we started with perfect Christians, what kind of story would we have? Jake was a very multifaceted character. I liked the investigative reporter side of him, as he was capable, resourceful, and creative to solve his cases. But as a Christian and husband, he sucked. He was two different people, and his dark side came out with the ones he loved instead of on the job.

And saints preserve us, Pam was the dumbest woman I have ever met in literature. Mapes did a good job of making sure we saw her for all her faults and shortcomings, and I couldn't help but wish I could sit her down and have a talk. She confused me a little with the way she's smart and dumb at the same time, but I enjoyed that she wasn't written in as a perfect compliment to Jake's unsteady character.

I found it very interesting that Mapes actually has me sympathizing with the criminal. I feel that his terrible parents contributed to his unstable frame of mind, yet is a victim of his own making. No matter our past, we make our own choices, and the "bad guy" in this story was no different. A wonderful, suspenseful first novel to The Crittendon Files.

This book was provided by the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of thrillers and suspense novels, I was really looking forward to reading "Fear Has a Name." I am constantly looking for a thriller that I can enjoy that includes a Christian message. This is not an easy combination to achieve, and the attempts often result in any faith message being lost in the story or the story being lost in the message. "Fear Has a Name" did not disappoint. The story begins with a big enough bang to to capture my interest and engage my curiosity. As I read, the action ebbed and flowed in a perfect mix of needed detail and moments of nail-biting tension. I felt engaged throughout the story, and truly if I didn't have such a rigid bedtime, I would have read into the night. "Fear Has a Name" keeps you thinking about not just what will happen next in the story but in actual life by bringing to light real issues like bullying, abuse, scandal and the importance of caring about others as we do ourselves. You are also reminded that not everything is as it appears.

The characters are well thought out and caused me to want to know more about them and what will happen next. The characters made me feel emotions of fear, sadness, disgust, and also hope. Occasionally I simply wanted to shake a few.

If I were to give one word to describe "Fear Has a Name" I would use the word "gripping." It was that and so much more. I am thrilled that "Fear Has a Name" is just the first in a series. I eagerly look forward to the next book "Poison Town."

I would like to disclose that I received this book for free to facilitate my review. The opinion is completely my own.